


Night Terrors

by KDblack



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: L Has Nightmares, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Yagami Light Doesn't Remember Being Kira, Yotsuba Arc (Death Note), guess who they're about, that doesn't change as much as you might hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28665045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDblack/pseuds/KDblack
Summary: On the rare occasion Ryuzaki does sleep, he has nightmares. Learning this leaves Light feeling equal parts surprise, triumph, and dismay. He didn’t think Ryuzaki was human enough to be haunted by anything.(Ryuzaki doesn’t sleep well. Light homes in on weakness like blood in the water.)
Relationships: L/Yagami Light
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	Night Terrors

On the rare occasion Ryuzaki does sleep, he has nightmares. Learning this leaves Light feeling equal parts surprise, triumph, and dismay. He didn’t think Ryuzaki was human enough to be haunted by anything. He stands corrected. Ryuzaki may lie, but the evidence doesn’t. The detective sits curled up in his chair by Light’s bed, hugging his knees to his chest, struggling to breathe. He’s shaking but still so deep in REM sleep that Light can gently pry open an eye without waking him. It jerks rapidly back and forth, consumed by dilated pupil, staring blindly at something Light can’t see. Unexpectedly broad shoulders quiver against the back of Ryuzaki’s chair. 

Light’s never seen him so helpless before. It seems that even the world’s greatest detective is at the mercy of his own mind. A soft smile crawls over Light’s face as he sits back, studying the lines of tension playing over that pale face. Ryuzaki’s skin glows in the dark, luminous, ghost-like, begging to be marked up. It’s a good thing he sleeps scrunched up. If he was careless enough to let his head tip back, exposing the long curve of his throat, Light might be tempted to do something he can’t take back.

Awake, Ryuzaki is Light’s personal shoulder devil. Asleep, he’s a very different kind of demon. Who can blame Light for watching through slitted eyes and admiring him late into the night? The inevitable hidden cameras will only pick up a teenage boy moving around restlessly, checking if Ryuzaki is still alive, and settling down in a different position. One with a better view.

The night before the handcuffs come off, Ryuzaki talks in his sleep. “Light,” he whispers, voice broken, hands clenched to his chest. “Please don’t…”

He never finishes the sentence. He doesn’t have to. Light’s stomach turns over as he’s jarred from thoughts of pleasant superiority. Great. Another reminder of how deep Ryuzaki’s belief in his theory goes.

For a second, Light considers opening his mouth and saying something in return. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. Even if I was Kira, I wouldn’t kill you.’

It’s the truth. If Light really was Kira, he’d do all sorts of things to Ryuzaki – to L – but not that. Ryuzaki isn’t a good person. He deserves punishment. But Light _is_ a good person. Besides, death is too simple and uncomplicated for either of them.

In the chair, Ryuzaki lets out a quiet whimper. Light smiles into his pillow. They'll both be tired in the morning, but it's worth it.

Ryuzaki is beautiful like this. If only he would stay that way.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna blame this on all the nice tumblr pics of L having nightmares about Light killing him.


End file.
